Leaving Las Vegas, we headed towards Hoover Dam. Word to the wise- if you see Hoover Dam, prepare for pain. Lots of pain and in many forms. First, you will encounter the pain of lots of traffic. You see, the road over Hoover Dam is the most direct route between Las Vegas and Arizona, which doesn’t seem like much until I remind the reader that Nevada and Arizona are the two states with the fastest growing populations. So it does not take much imagination to picture the hordes of cars trying to pass over the two-lane road over the dam and the annoying traffic it causes. Second, you will deal with the most accident prone people that each state has to offer. Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon are probably two of the most iconic American vacation spots and therefore it lures all types of people from all across the States to it like moths to a fly zapper. People will frequently dart in front of traffic to get from one side of the Dam to the other despite the Hummer that is barreling towards them. Survival of the fittest might be a great theme for this section of the trip, but I hear that the Theory of Social Darwinism is generally discouraged these days, so I shall not advocate it either. To be honest, there’s not much else to say about the Dam; it’s big, it holds back a big lake, tons of stupid tourists. Oh, you can always get a tour of inside the Dam, and I’m sure it’s impressive, but we just took our pictures and went on our merry way into the enchanted land of Arizona.
Now this lovely state, part of the extended South (take it Crystal!), is actually nothing like the desert anecdotes you may have heard of in pop culture. Following the most direct route between Vegas and Scottsdale will take you through the heart of Arizona’s Joshua Tree forest, an absolutely stunning land filled with stunted, gnarled trees that can only be described and ugly by itself but amazingly beautiful as part of its surroundings. With the occasional cactus around as well, I think we felt the Joshua Tree forest was an unexpected delight that we perhaps enjoyed even more than Hoover Dam. We soon thereafter arrived at my uncle’s house and just had some genuine good times with family.
The next day (no, this post is not over just yet), we made our way to the Grand Canyon, and let me tell you, the route took us through a part of Arizona that I didn’t know existed in Arizona; did you ever think there would be a pine forest in Arizona? The northern section of the state is much cooler than the desert south, which allows for the evergreens trees to flourish. In fact, when we left Scottsdale at 7:30am., it was 90 degrees and when we got to the Canyon, it was down to 74. But temperatures aside, the Grand Canyon is truly grand! Words like ‘large’ or ‘big’ or even ‘enormous’ do not accurately describe what the Canyon really is because it isn’t just a big hole in the ground, it’s magnificent in size and in beauty. We’ve all seen the pictures of the Canyon, but you really can’t get a feel for the place until you’ve actually been there in person. And yes, once you seen the big hole in the ground and soaked in its wonder for three hours, it really does become just a big hole in the ground, but for those three hours, the journey, entrance fee, and lifelong wait all become worthwhile. There other things to do in the area such as the IMAX video of the Canyon (highly recommended), the Grand Canyon Railroad (also recommended for railroad buffs), plenty of hiking trails and whitewater rafting. In the end, it doesn’t matter what you do do at the Canyon, just don’t miss it! Ever! Go now! Really, I meant it; what are you waiting for?
States visited to date: 14
National Park Passport cancellations to date: 18
1 comment:
It's not "The South"... it's The Southwest. Your mom agreed with me.
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